CHAPTER 18
Guarding the indigenous people was not all the animals were going to do in Australia, though. There was another important operation that they needed to implement, with the aid of Albert and another human.
This second assignment would benefit not only humans, but also the animals themselves, as well as the earth on which they lived. As we would not be staying much longer, Jacques La Rue, Warble McGorkle’s former Personal Fitness Trainer, accepted a leadership role from Albert in carrying this out.
Jacques and the inhabitants of the waters surrounding Australia (the Arafura Sea, the Coral Sea, the Tasman Sea, the Great Australian Bight and the Indian Ocean)— namely the Dolphins that Albert had coached as well as the Sharks, Jellyfish, Sea Lions, Octopi, Whales and the rest—were to be the principal actors in this second main work the animals of Australia were to do.
Many of the animals we had trained—the animals of the land and the skies—were involved with this, but the sea creatures played the lead role in preventing polluters from ruining the oceans, most particularly the Coral Reef.
But perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself here.
Getting back to the Dolphins that Albert was coaching, one in particular was especially attentive at the sessions our human friend presented.
This astute dolphin’s name was Dolly Poise Hayduke. Once Dolly understood the program completely and knew what needed to be done to prevent the would-be polluters from contaminating the waters surrounding Australia, she basically took over the coaching of all the sea creatures—from Barnacles to Whales.
A particular cause for concern was the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland.
This is what the sea creatures would do when an oceangoing vessel was identified as one whose operations would contribute to the destruction of the natural environment:
Barnacles would swarm and attach themselves to the ship to slow it down, thus increasing its cost of operation and reducing its profit margin (thereby discouraging investors). Albert always says, “Follow the money trail. You have to hurt them in the pocketbook—that’s the only thing they truly care about.”
Sharks and Dolphins, working together, would perform ‘sea-writing’ maneuvers alongside the ships, using the foam they stirred up as they thrashed around to create letters, forming words, thus sending messages to the sailors. Some of these floating communiques were: “Here Be Dragons,” “Abandon All Hope of Profit, Ye Who Enter Here,” “Turn Back or Be Sunk!” and “Go Home! I Think I Hear Your Mama Calling You”—as well as other things of that nature.
After the Dolphins and Sharks had formed these messages, Jellyfish would then contort themselves into the shapes of these letters made of seafoam and begin to pulsate, so that the warning messages continued to be flashed forth even after the foam had dissipated.
The Sea Lions would assist in harassing the men who messed about in boats by creating an unending cacophonous racket. This they would accomplish by barking, growling, and grunting at the top of their lungs until the sailors thought they would go out of their minds if they didn’t get away from the infernal din.
Finally, as the coup de grâce, the Whales would ram the ships, persistently pummeling them until the oceangoing vessels would finally figuratively hoist the surrender flag and retreat.
As mentioned, in addition to these marine operations that the sea creatures carried out, the land animals and birds were also involved in driving out the would-be ruiners of the ecosystem.
Taterskin & The Eco Defenders (in paperback, kindle, or hardcover) is available here.